Bitter bush-mango (Irvingia wombolu)

Family: Irvingiaceae | Edibility: Choice Edible (4/5)

Irvingia wombolu is a tropical tree growing up to 25 m tall with a buttressed trunk of about 50 cm in diameter. The crown is dense and round comprised of alternate, simple leaves. The flowers are yellow and form into groups in the leaf axils. The fruits are fleshy, green in color but turn yellow when ripe, and oval. The bark is used against diarrhea, hernia, yellow fever, poisoning, pains, wounds, and toothache.

Edible Parts & Harvest Seasons

Edible Parts: Fruit, Berries, Nuts/Seeds

Harvest Seasons: Early Summer, Fall, Late Summer

Flavor & Culinary Uses

The seeds are used for making a mucilaginous sauce in cooking. The seeds are 35 - 50 mm long, 17 - 26 mm wide, 8 - 10 mm thick; with an endosperm that is almost non-existent. — The seeds are used for making a mucilaginous sauce in cooking.; The seeds are 35 - 50 mm long, 17 - 26 mm wide, 8 - 10 mm thick; with an endosperm that is almost non-existent.; The kernels from the fruit are an important ingredient in cooking and are generally preferred over those of other Irvingia spp.; They are processed by grinding and crushing, and are then used to thicken soups and stews.

Habitat & North American Range

Evergreen lowland forest, mostly seasonally flooded, and on damp soil, beside streams; valley forest; also forest on dry land; in small patches of forest and gallery forest; at elevations around 900 - 1,170 metres. (Zone 10)